Electric switch construction



lELECTRIC SWITCH CONSTRUCTION T Original Filed May 31, 1934 HARRY A. DUGLA By Y -f-UNlffEDfsfrArEs PATENT .QFHCE f Figure2 isa vi "win section takenonthe line Patented Och 5c,

l i vHarry `An Bronson,Mich.,` assigner to Kingston `Products` Corporation, Aa -`corpora- "Applicationltay `317K,` 1934,8erial No. '128,279` c Benewedcseptcmber y30,1935

l I p (crzoofcs) c n i l I i,Thisfinvenuonfeiatest impovementsmelcisamenrmiy against the end of the casing wan.

ftric switches and more particularly'to' a "snap action switchfof` the slide peratedtype toouickl'y "makeandlbreak acircuittherethrough? It is# an object ofy this invention tc provide a switch ofthistypewhichfiscompact; simple in construction",` readily assembled and easilyy at-vr` tachedto a support tl'iereforg--such-asianescutch `eonplatelof a wall switch or an instrument board,

as the `caseV may be.` l i illustrated in elet/nigga; 'i c n Figure -3 is afview I Figure'5 is a detail vie "ing mechanis'nris enclosedvinga cupi-shaped meendfgmsure z provided with @central circulsr or riveted upon -the finner side off `the 4 closure 2 tosecure the sleeve theretuiirrshown.` .Theouter "exterior" portion ofthe sleeyef' isl screw threaded y c "ior engagingalockingfnutl whenmountedfuponV a 'support `5 therefor," which inay be the` cover i or i escutcheon plate of a `wall switclr Vor `the-instrument board of an automotive"vehicle,lbygpass :ing the" sleeve 3 through a `circular' openingproi theexteriorythereof to drawfthe closure! in`a clamped relation" upon `jthe'fback` of` the support.

-iThe- `walls `of theisleeve` 3" are lbrought.together e ,-onthe outer side toform `an elongated slot '6,'.

The open end of the casing I I` is`closed.by a lcontact carrying disc 1of` insulating Vvmaterial which'is held` securely inrpositionbya plurality number,` forming integral" extensions `of the @casf wall which are passed"throughcorrespondingu notches il` in the periphery of the disc 1` and the'n `bent over the outer surfaceof the disc to hold the cent1-ai vertieatsectin i of i ariembddmient "of/i 'this inventan; with fparts" `lar 'rada of The contact carrying disc 1 mounts two electric 'terminals I0 and II; preferably of the snap ter-` c i c lindrical extension which 'extensions are preier-y 10 p y lwith these andother objects inview, reference is `:natie to the j accompanying sheetiqof` dravivings whichl illustrate fa preferred embodiment ofthis "inventionwith the `understandingfthatminor dej ltail changes may be made withoutgdepartinfg from ably reduced in diameter, as shown".V `Whenthis ,type terminal is employed, it is-desirable to is'then expanded or riveted upon theinterior of "the disc 1 to. holdthe terminals in vpiace. The

terminals III- and II` are mounted on perpendicuthe -disc 1 an equal distance'from the center. f

f i 2 Thetcenter ofthe contact carryingdisc is o "provided with a rectangular projection of insullating material I` upon its innersurfa'ce" having sidesIZ` parallelto the radii passing through vthe"terminals IandII with the edgesadjacent c: j" c` terminals joinedto an upwardly extendinganin sectiontaken" onfthe l gularsurface `I3`terminating in a central transverse iiat portion I l. An electric contact'` I5' in ftheformof afmetallic stripis connected to ter-` c minalliljprei'erably by passing'the reduced'cy- 30 lindrical portion 'thereof through an apertureproyide'd therefor inthe` end ofjsaid strip, uponfthe i outer side ofthe' contact carrying disc;4 The other I end o! the strip is then passed through "the discA 11 tdembrace the jadjacent side andangular sur-` 35 face Ilkofvfthecentralfprojection I upon the` inner sideioi'A thev disc 1 withthe/upper surface ofthe strip terminating, ush with the flat transverse "top Ilot the central projection. The upper suriace of the insulating projection leading from the 40 ilat'top of the transverse portion Il opposite the contact strip I5 is continued downwardly thereirom at an'ang'lejsimilar to that formed bythe upper `surface of said' stripffor a similar distance `and-then curved upwardly to form a stop IB, for Ya purposev hereinafter described. The expanded Aorriveted head of the terminal lI0 is preferably -`received in arecess provided therefor'upon the `inner surface of the disc'1 to be wholly/'received below. that surface, for apurpose hereinafter describedp-f`` f i y I Thejfswitching mechanismis carrieduponV a U-shaped metallic bracket having a rectangular base I1; with a'central cut out portion I8 to're-` ceive `the projection I upon thedisc 'I providing 65 lingers 25.

end portions I9 all of which extends over the countersunk expanded end of the terminal I0 and having the sides of the base provided with integral outstanding perforated ears 26 and 2|. The reduced cylindrical portion of the terminal II is passed through the apertured ear 26 with the end expanded or riveted upon the upper surface thereof, while the other ear 2i is secured to the disc 1 by a rivet 22 passing through the ear and disc with the metal of the ends expanded or riveted thereon. The inner side of the end portion I9 of the base extending over the terminal I6 is spaced apart from the contact I5 and the opposite end portion I9 is in engagement with the central projection I' of the disc 1. The spaced apart end portion I9 is provided upon its inner side with an integral upwardly extending stop 23 bent back at an angle and spaced apart from the contact I 5 to form a stop complementary to the stop I6 of the projection I.

The ear bearing sides of the base are extended upward to form two similar arms 24 perpendicular to the base I1 and equally spaced from the axis of the casing I with each side of each arm provided midway its height with outstanding integral The switching device for alternately continuing the circuit from the terminal II to the contact I5 of the terminal I0 is mounted to oscillate upon a pivot 26 passing through apertures in the upper ends of the arms 24. The circuit making and breaking mechanism includes an oscillating actuator A caused to oscillate by a manually operable oscillating operator O.

The actuator is mounted upon a pivot pin 26 passed through apertures in the arms 24 of the supporting bracket and includes two similar metallic actuating plates 21, adapted to receive the pivot pin 26 and depend therefrom in sliding engagement with the respective arms 24 of the supporting bracket and terminating short of the high point of the carrier disc projection I with a portion of the opposite longitudinal sides struck up at right angles to the main body to form right angular flanges 28 extending upward from the bottom leaving oppositely disposed similar outstanding arms 29 extending from the body of the plate, the longitudinal edges oi the flanges 28 are adapted to engage the similar edges of the corresponding flanges on the respective plates 21. The actuator plates 21 are mounted upon the pivot pin 26 in similar longitudinally elongated bearings 30 allowing a sliding longitudinal movementY ci the plate about the pin 26. The upper surfaces of the actuator arms 29 lie in the same plane which passes slightly below the axis of the pivot pin 26 when the upper end of the bearing 30 is in contact with the upper surfaces of the pin 26. A spring housing 3I in the form of an inverted U is mounted between the plates 21 and embraced by the flanges 26. The extremities of the sides of the housing are provided with transverse flanges 32 with the terminations thereof inclined upwardly to engage the outer sides of the oppositely disposed actuator flanges on each side of the housing and position the base, or top, of the housing at a distance below the lower end f of the actuator bearing 36. I'he housing 3| retoward each other, as shown in Figure 3 to prevent the nose 34, when mounted on the disc 1, from riding over either of the stops I6 or 23.

The actuator A is caused to oscillate by the movement of an oscillating operator O. 'Ihe oscillated operator is formed of insulating material preferably Bakelite and is provided with a depending perforated portion 36 slidably received between the actuator plates 21 to receive the pivot pin` 26 and mount the operator for oscillation thereabout. The upper portions of the actuator plates21 are cut on the arc of a circle concentric with theV pivot pin 26 when the upper bearing surface thereof is in engagement with the upper side of said pin. The depending portion 36 ofthe operator is extended above the actuator plates 21' and on each side of the pivot. Each side of said portion is provided with a transverse lug 31. The lateral extensions of the member 36 and lugs 31 thereon are terminated on each side of the pivot 26 in stops having surfaces 36 curving slightly upward with the surfaces 38 of the lugs in contact with the actuator arms 29 when the lower end of the bearings 30 of the actuator are in engagement with the under side of the pivot pin 26.v The top 39 of the portion 36 between the lugs 31 is formed on the arc of a circle concentric with the pivot pin 26 and is provided with a longitudinal central groove 40 extending between the lugs 31 with its bottom parallel to the surfaces 38.

A A hand operated sliding operator S is mounted for back and forth motion in the slot 6 of the sleeve 3 and is provided with means to impart a back land forth movement to the oscillating operator about thepivot 26. The sliding operator S is preferably constructed to include an exterior knob 4I extended into an annular flange 42 at its bottom, of a sufiicient diameter to cover the exterior of the slot 6 in all positions of the knob 4I, and an interior operating member having a central cylindrical portion 43 passing through the slot 6 in screw-threaded engagement with the aids of the sliding knob.4I and provided with a ange 44 of greater width than the slot 6 formed to have a sliding engagement with the under side of the closure of the sleeve 3. Said operating member is also provided with a central longitudinal lug 45 received within the groove 46 of the oscillating4 operator O with its ends terminated in angular surfaces 46 adapted to alternately ride over the lugs 31 of the oscillating operator O, asthe knob 4I is moved back and forth in the slot 6 and imparts .a rotary movement to the oscillating operator.

Figures 1 and 3 illustrate the normal positions of the various parts of the switch when the operating knob 4I has been moved to the bottom of the slot 6, fromwhich it is seen that the current continuing nose 34 of the detent 33 has engaged the contact strip I5 of theterminal I6 and is maintained in contact therewith by the tension of the spring 35 holding the nose 34 against the stop 23 of the base I1 of the bracket which spring has bodily moved the actuator to slide over the pivot pin 26 to bring the lower end of the bearing 36 in resilient engagement with the under side of said pivot pin and the actuator arms 29 have engaged both stop surfaces 36 of the oscillating manual operator O and the circuit is completed from vterminal I I to the `terminal I0 not' only through the bracket, as well as through the actuator A, and current continuing nose 34 to contact strip I5, but is also completed by the nose acting n as a current continuing bridge from the stop 23 l foi' `the bracket to the angularsurfaceoi' the contact stop I connected to the `terminal III. i t I l vWhen the knob 4I is manually raised or lifted,

`flug 3T and through contact of the engaged stop 38 l with theadjacent actuator arm 29 to rst bodily t t move theactuator in the direction ofthe engaged y Strop`23 of thebase lluntilthe `upper end of the; bearing III engages the upperside of the pinl26,

placing the. detentaspring J35 Vunder greater ten- `sion than 'nox-mal. lThen as the rotativejmovef ment of the operator continues, it imparts a vro;-

q Ill` closed under a "slightly increasing tension of point' of the `nose 34 `approaches a right angle to the angular surfaces of the contact I5,'the fric- "1V tion of the nosethercagainst is minimizedfI'he "movement of-the nose 34 toward"`the high point g of `the carrier projection I increases the tension of the spring so that just `beforethe nosereaches the high point, the spring bod-V Qily `moves the actuator away from the contact;

Q with the noseusuu hem `1n contact with the actuatortorotategabout the point P as a pivot. t `In otherwords, during theapplicationoi powerat l high"` point of the proiectiomj poweris applied vat the lower endof thei other arm of the bellcrank lfulcrum; the elongated bearing `SII `allowing slid- 21bythe stored up power in the spring 35 causes g55 engage the stop I6 on the otherend o! the insu- "nose tobreak engagement with vterminalflll. Y l ".Erom the above, it isseenthat as soonas the qiknob 4I has rotated'the oscillating operator O suiiiciently to shift the actuatorA from the nor- `mal pivotl26fto its eccentric pivot P, `the spring 35 II to theterminal III.` Upon "Adownward movement `of the knob 4 I fromvtheupper position. `the y l `returned to theposition shown inFigure 1. [70 "I'hisinventionalso contemplates its application toa two circuit switch, as shown in Figure4. Inithis `forrn the central insulating projection I `it imparts a rotative movement to the operator O t )by engagement oftheangular surface 4B withfthe t tative movement to the actuator A about its upper ,t `lbearing onthepivot'ZGvcausing the detent nose` l fto traveloverthe upwardly inclinedsurface of 1 thecontact' I5 towards its high point, as `shown 1in Figure a, holding the'contact with the terminal fthe `spring 35 as the noseapproaches thehigh l point `of the contact I5. lDuring the rotative f movement, the pivot pin 26 actsas the i'ulcrum'l of lthat as the line from the point P to the engaging u Iiyto bringthe lower endofits bearing into ,engagement with the under side of the pin 26 strip Iiyand during the movement causes the"L "P, the bell crank lever rotates about the pivot 2t 5cas1aiulcrurn, but as the nose 34 approaches the lever causing it to rotate about the point P as a. l

boing movement of the actuator about' the xed fpivot 26.` The movement imparted to the actuator the` nose 34 to snap over the `high point of the j u projection I and toquickly'extend the nose 34 to lated projection and thereby-quickly oscillate the` f thecontact of*` automatically completesfthe oscillation to snapjf 1 the nose `34 `outof engagement with the contact l 65`4s"tr`ip I5 and break the circuit from the terminal actionabove described is reversed andthe parts carrying'thecontactfstrip)I5 from the` terminal I0 is provided withfacomplementary oppositelyl .fjdispo'sed'surface Ita `upon which is mounted a" contact `strip I5a, mounted uponthe disc 1 and V connected to a third terminal (not shown) in 'the same Lrnanner `as the strip I5. The additional y "terminal 4is mounted upon a diameter ofthe` disc passing through the center of the contact IIl and :at `a similardistance from the center thereof with the riveted head of the said terminallying under theradjacent end portion I9 of the base I1 lot the metallic actuator carryingbracket. The

inner `side of thatend portion I9 is spaced apart fromLthejfadjacent contact strip4 IEaV and is providedwithan upwardly extendingstop Nabent backat an angle `similar to the corresponding l In this form, when the current continuing nose 14 is oscillated to break the circuit to the terminal Ill-just as soon as itis snapped` over the fiat inl sulating surface I 4, `it immediately engages the contact strip I5a to complete the circuit tothe additional terminal, and then slides over said contactstrip until it engages thestop 23a uponl the end portion I9 of the metallicbracket, whereby upon manual depression of thebutton 4 the respective circuits `from theterminal Il to the "other terminals are each closed and opened alterf'nately. l

",As shown `and described, the parts of this im`- proved switching mechanism, excepting the oscillating operator O and the contact carrying disc, are all adapted to be formed of metal stampings, or machined parts, to be easilyandl quickly assembled.^'I'l'1e operatingparts are dependable as the spring for imparting the -snap movement is fully protected and the other parts are so`constructed that the switch may be operated thousands of timeswithout anyof the parts deteriorating or getting out of order. n t Certain features, common to the presentfapplit cation and to applicants Patent 2,044,065, June 16, 1936, are claimed in the aforesaid patent.

What I claim is: f

f1; An electric switch-comprising: a casing having vaniencl wall at oneendand being open at the other end; cam means `disposed'in said cas- `ingl and carried by said lend wall; ,Y operating meanshaving a portiondisposed on the outside oir, said end wall, constructed .and arranged to operate :said cammeans: said operating means and said endwall being relatively so constructed q i and arranged that said kcam means is'reciprocable `inythe general plane of said end wall; a base; switch mechanism `mounted on said base; said switch mechanism including an4 operator swingablegin a predetermined plane with respect to said base; and said cam meansand said operator beingfso` `constructed and arranged that when said base is assembled with said open end of said casing,jj.fsaidoperator and saidA cam means may be broughtinoperative relation so that reciprocation of said cam means `swings said operatorn said predetermined plane.

f2. Anpelectric switch, comprisingfa base;`

switch mechanism mounted onsaid'base; said 1 switch ,mechanism including an operator swingable ina predetermined plane; cam means constructed and arranged to swing said operator by reciprocation of said cam means; means mounting Asaid cammeans for rotation about an axisin said plane; and `saidcam means and said operator being relatively so constructed and arranged that i said cam means is constrained for reciprocatory 

